Portasol, Paradise with a Social and Environmental Mission

At Vermont Woods Studios, our wood furniture business is built on a foundation of sustainable forestry and we are particularly interested in rainforest conservation. Through the Eco Preservation Society in Costa Rica we were able to partner with Guillermo and Carlos Piedra in support of their work at Portasol an eco-resort within the local community of Potalon, Costa Rica.

Guillermo and Carlos Piedra are pioneers in the development of socially and environmentally responsible resort communities in Costa Rica and indeed the world. Their innovative development of the eco-community Portasol, a paradise along the western coast of Costa Rica, is nothing short of amazing.

Both Portasol management (The Piedras) and the property owners at Portasol are committed to forest stewardship and sustainability. They also support the surrounding community of Portalon.

We were introduced to a group of Portasol homeowners who were at the local school, donating text books to the children. This was the first time the children were ever given textbooks and they were ecstatic!

The homeowners also donated an incredible computer lab to the school… one I doubt you would find in any other school in Costa Rica! See our photos on Flicker for more details about the Portalon school.

We are so impressed with this type of partnership. It's a great example of how responsible, sustainable development can occur in such a way that both the environment and the community are enhanced. More about how we joined this partnership in the next post. Thanks for reading!

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About Peggy Farabaugh

She is a CEO who brakes for salamanders, has bottle-fed rescued squirrels and spent her vacation building furniture for a rural school in Costa Rica. She believes in the future and in the people who will build it. A former distance-learning professor at Tulane University with a master’s in environmental health & safety, she turned an interest in forest conservation and endangered species into a growing, local business. She delivers rainforest statistics at breakneck speed, but knows how to slow down and appreciate the beauty of a newly finished piece of heirloom furniture.